How Much Access to Welfare Records Is Warranted?

It’s one of those invisible walls that generates passionate debate: Some consider it too high while others believe it must be fortified even more.

The wall in question protects records containing personal information about thousands of Orange County residents who receive public assistance.

One branch of county government, the Social Services Agency, compiles and stores the records. Another branch of county government, the marshal’s office, thinks the data could help it locate suspects with warrants out for their arrests.

But because of strict confidentiality rules, the marshal’s office and other law enforcement agencies have limited access to the information.

The situation changed a bit this spring when the county formally codified a new state law that loosened some confidentiality restrictions, permitting greater cooperation between social workers and police. The marshal’s office supports the change.

“There is an irony that one county department is trying to find people that another county department might be dealing with,” Marshal’s Capt. Thomas Twellman said. “This is another tool we can use to effect the service of a warrant on someone.”

But some attorneys and advocates of the poor see a more dangerous--some say Orwellian--precedent at the heart of the issue.

While the new rules probably will have a limited impact, advocates fear they might set the stage for a larger rollback of confidentiality laws and continue what they see as a trend toward treating welfare recipients with suspicion.

“My concern is of a general principle being eroded,” said Bob Newman, staff attorney with the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “It’s the government gathering information for one purpose but using it for another.”

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While some believe the issue has far-reaching implications, the law change itself affects only the roughly 2,700 county residents who receive general relief, a form of assistance that provides as much as $299 a month to people with no other sources of income.

Until the new law was adopted, the Social Services Agency was prohibited from releasing information about a recipient unless law enforcement officials could prove that a felony arrest warrant had been issued for the individual.

Even then, only limited data could be released and only if the head of the police agency requested it.

The new rules offer police access to information on recipients wanted on either felony or misdemeanor warrants. Moreover, the Social Services Agency is now permitted to inform police if it discovers that a recipient has a warrant, though social workers are not supposed to ask them directly.

Officials from the marshal’s office, which is responsible for serving most warrants, said they intend to use the new rules judiciously--usually to help locate wanted individuals. They are entitled to only certain information in the files such as addresses, telephone numbers and physical descriptions.

Marshal’s Lt. Gary Tackett estimated that the department will make 100 to 150 checks per month, which he said is a relatively small number considering that the county has more than 220,000 active warrants, ranging from traffic violations to violent crimes.

Larry Leaman, director of the Social Services Agency, said he doubts the change will have a dramatic effect on either social workers or most general relief recipients.

“This is a tiny step,” he said. “I don’t think this is Big Brother.”

Tight federal and state confidentiality rules give social workers little discretion about what information--if any--they can share with other government departments.

Still, Leaman said balancing a recipient’s privacy with the needs of crime investigators can sometimes be frustrating.

One such case occurred a few years ago when authorities from outside the county called Leaman seeking information about someone involved in a murder investigation. Leaman said he wasn’t able to grant the request because police had not issued an arrest warrant for the subject.

“To this day, I wonder if I had something in the file that would have made a difference,” he said.

Still, advocates maintain that the privacy of those who receive aid should take priority.

“When people apply for general relief, they are already opening up their lives,” said Hester Honda, an Orange County attorney who works with the poor.

Some advocates said the new rules reflect society’s changing attitudes about poor people.

“We have a lot more suspicion about people who are down and out,” said Nancy Rimshaw, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Orange County. “We used to feel sorry for them. Now, there is more questioning of them.”

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Checking the Records

A new state law makes it somewhat easier for law enforcement agencies to gain access to welfare records of individuals who are wanted. The marshal’s office handles the vast majority of warrants in the county, most of which are for misdemeanors. Here is a breakdown of its current 219,856 cases:

Traffic infractions: 3%

Felony warrants: 5%

Misdemeanor warrants: 92%

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Here is how those warrants break down by court throughout the county:

Fullerton Municipal Court: 53,093

Santa Ana Municipal Court: 53,083

Westminster Municipal Court: 44,659

Laguna Niguel Municipal Court: 30,629

Newport Beach Municipal Court: 28,940

Superior Court: 8,119

Juvenile Court: 1,325

Miscellaneous: 8

* Source: Orange County marshal’s office; Researched by SHELBY GRAD / For the Times